


His Melody

by Pchan2017



Series: The MayWeather Element. [2]
Category: Underfell - Fandom, Undertale (Video Game)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-01
Updated: 2017-08-01
Packaged: 2018-12-09 19:34:45
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,810
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11675661
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Pchan2017/pseuds/Pchan2017
Summary: Work two in the Mayweather Experiment. A little insight with this first chapter. Tags to be added as needed.





	His Melody

**Author's Note:**

> Mildly disappointed with how short the first part of this series started out. I originally planned for it to be a one shot, but the more I thought on it, the more ideas kept coming to me. I highly suggest you read this in order, at the beginning it won't make much difference, but if all goes as planned, the final story will pull it all together, so if you jump ahead in the series, you might get a bit confused.. anyway, enough rambling and on with the story.

Life was not easy. That was something each monster knew from birth till the day they fell to dust. For some, it came too soon, for others.. it could not come soon enough. It was an on going battle, the cruelty of the world around them, the cruelty in their own souls. Some would seek out a battle they knew they could not win, just to hurry the end along. The merciful were the ones who slew their foes, the truly heartless were the ones who left them to suffer.. He had never considered himself.. merciful. 

Life was not easy, but he could ensure it was not a greater struggle for himself, and perhaps his worthless runt of a brother. Papyrus, or Boss as he insisted his sniveling cur of a sibling to call him, had set out with a single goal in his mind. Protection from the world around them. He began first, with what he considered his one true failure in life.. Making Sans stronger. Belittling the runt daily, demanding more then the weakling could take on, and punishing him when he failed. All of this was suppose to make Sans stronger, bolder, give him more confidence and strength and perhaps raise his blasted HP. And yet.. it backfired. Sans, the elder of the two, had changed over the years. His genuine smile when he saw his sibling, faded to a sarcastic sneer, this turned to a tight line across his features, and finally a depressed frown which was quickly covered over by a fake smile.

It all came to a head, the day Sans had tried something so completely stupid, that it still left Papyrus wondering just what he had done wrong. All his techniques should have worked.. they had worked with Papyrus when he trained with Undyne, so why did it not work with Sans? Life was not easy, and that day, it became a great deal harder. For weeks he had to keep a close eye on Sans, practically dragging him everywhere he went.. his sharp tongued brother had grown listless and dreary. It would only be a matter of time before he would begin to fall, and with his low health.. Papyrus could not focus on anything save for Sans' well being.

It had been one of the exceedingly rare times he had shown his brother mercy, and he hated it. Days upon days of Sans trembling at the sight of him, then looking down at the floor. He could read that look easily. Failure. Sans saw himself as a failure. Papyrus was at a loss for how to change this, for the first time in many, many years.. he felt something he had thought was a thing of the past. The cold claw of fear. It had gripped about his soul like a vice, squeezing his shriveled heart till it felt as if it might shatter. He would lose Sans if something did not change.

Thank Asgore, for Alphys. The disturbed yellow reptilian creature had stepped up to the challenge.. once Papyrus had threaten to tear her lab apart, and crafted an item to help the pair. It did not correct the root of the problem, but it kept a constant monitor on Sans' health, as well as pinpoint his location. The tool had a few other items of interest about it, but he was not concerned with any of that.. what matter to him, was the change in his brother's eye lights when he placed the crimson, metal studded leather about his neck.

It was like a switch had gone off in the small skeleton. He still could not grasp what exactly had taken place within that empty skull, but once the collar was in place, Sans had .. for the first time in so many years, looked up to Papyrus and locked his gaze with him. 'Sup, Boss?' Papyrus could have dropped to his knees that day, and praised whatever fate had smiled upon him.. Sans had spoke, he had not said a work in three long weeks.. having communicated through shrugs and grunts.. no matter how much Papyrus had pushed him. 

From there on out, it was just part of the daily routine to check the small item clasped about his wrist.. Papyrus still did not understand fully how it linked to Sans' collar, but it gave a constant feed on Sans' well being. He could see when the pulse of Sans' magic might change.. speed up or slow down. It also informed Papyrus of any dips in his brother's magic, a sudden dip could mean trouble.. most likely a fight the smaller skeleton was losing. 

Eventually, he was able to send Sans back to his place at his sentry station, and life returned to a some what sense of normality. But the strain had taken its toll on Papyrus as well. The constant added stress and worry had him worn down, though his well crafted facade he wore of fierce determination never cracked. He trained, he fought, he cursed, and he continued on. But eventually he found a measure of relief throughout his day.

It had caught him by surprise, a strange and oddly shaped ..thing! It had a curved body, a long neck.. and strings? It did not take him long to figure it out.. it was a musical device of some sort. It took time, to understand how to make it sound..correct. His fingers could only pluck at the strings, crafting broken twangs and lingering sour notes.. once again, Alphys held the answers.. or more likely, the cartoons she called 'anime' did. He was grumbling, scrunched down in the horrible seat she called a 'bean bag chair' seriously.. it was far too low to the ground, far too soft.. it was more like a pathetic trap. He always had to scramble his way out of it.. and he suspected that Undyne and Alphys had ensured any good seats were always taken before he could arrive, just to watch him struggle.. but it was on one of their 'anime nights', an activity he had insisted dragging Sans to, he had to make sure the lazy skeleton got some proper socialization in.. less he revert back to his quiet nature once more.

The anime had been.. sickening. Young, squishy humans going through their daily routines in something called a 'school' , it was honestly.. very boring. He had almost given into the urge to sleep, when a sound struck him.. deep and light at the same time, a wafting sound which lingered through the air. His sharp gaze shifted from his brooding to glare at the screen.. and it was then he realized what he had been missing. The young human upon the screen had been sawing some soft of stick with a bundle of strings across it, along the strings of the instrument.. from this he discovered that his little secret treasure was called a violin. He liked the name.. it was so close to violence! A perfect instrument for a fearsome creature like himself!

It took some time, but he soon had crafted his own 'bow', a slender, long bone which he had chiseled two holes at either end, allowing him to run soft fibers he had stolen from Alphys' lab once evening when she had not been paying attention. The 'strings' were long, soft.. almost like hair, but not crimson like those Undyne possessed.. these were pale, carrying a yellow hue to them.. whatever they were, wherever they had come from..they were his now, and they worked perfectly. Now with his instrument and bow in working order.. he had to learn how to get it to make those sounds he had heard in the anime.

He nearly broke the blasted thing in a rage! How could he, The Great and Terrible Papyrus, not master the 'violin' in a day? It took a highly frustrating amount of time till it began to sound.. tolerable. At first it had been as a screeching feline, and more then once Sans accused him of 'bringing his work home' with him. But in time, simple tunes began to be produced.. Sans never asked about the music which filled their home, but Papyrus was not satisfied. He needed a space where he could work in silence.. without worrying about someone wandering in on him as he practiced.

Eventually he found a place.. not far from the old, forgotten ruins actually. No one came out here, why would they? The ruins were a sore reminder of what the monsters had lost.. but for Papyrus, the ruins and the woods surrounding them, provided an excellent hide-a-way for him to become lost in his music. And become lost, he did. The surrounding trees bounced the sounds all around him, filling his skull with the melody and washing his bones in the comfort the music could bring.. it was here he found his peace. 

It came as no great surprise, that with a little magic, he could craft a mirror image of himself with its own violin and the ghostly melodies would dance and mix as he poured all of himself into his art.. yes this was an art, so much greater then that of his cooking, of his fighting.. of anything truth be told. Day in and day out, he would find himself retreating back to the forest.. he never slacked in his duties, if anything, he strove harder.. fighting harder, training harder.. till one day he had achieved his goal. He was a royal guardsman. But that was not enough, he needed more power.

And so, Papyrus pushed himself, and his music reflected his struggles. The tunes he created were rippling with sharp notes and ending abruptly. But it pleased him, the more he had to fight to gain what he wanted, the stronger he became. Eventually he found himself second only to Undyne. Answering to the captain of the guard was not his true desire, he wanted to BE captain of the guard.. but for now, it would suffice. Undyne was the one who had trained him after all, she knew his tricks and could defeat him if he went up against her for her place within the guard. So for now, he would wait, and grow stronger.

His music grew along with him, his skill was beyond exceptional.. another thing he could add to the list of what made him so great and terrible. Yes, life had become easier, now he had to keep it that way. Sans was somewhat happy, that was enough. His music calmed him, which was a true balm to his soul. And he had reached his first goal in life.. now all he had to do, was keep everything as he had set it in order, keep everything running smoothly.

And that is when the trouble began.


End file.
